Man arrested in downtown Halifax after driver finds firearm on bus

Police arrested a man in Halifax and recovered a firearm on a nearby public transit bus Thursday after receiving a report of someone carrying what appeared to be a rifle wrapped in fabric in the city’s downtown.

HALIFAX — Police arrested a man in Halifax and recovered a firearm on a nearby public transit bus Thursday after receiving a report of someone carrying what appeared to be a rifle wrapped in fabric in the city’s downtown.

Const. Pierre Bourdages of Halifax Regional Police said a bus driver found the firearm and called police at about 11 a.m. Bourdages did not know what type of gun was seized.

He said a man is alleged to have left the gun on the bus and then walk down Argyle Street nearby, where he was arrested minutes later without incident.

“We have that man in custody right now and we have a firearm that was recovered on the Metro Transit bus,” he said. “It’s too early to determine if the incident from this morning and this one are connected.”

The arrest comes after police said they received a single report at 8:36 a.m. of a man with a rifle on Duke and Brunswick streets, adjacent to the street where the gun was found.

Police also tweeted that they had received no indication of any threats being made.

Some schools in the area took precautions on the movement of students.

Doug Hadley of the Halifax Regional School Board said police advised Citadel High School to go into a hold and secure mode, which meant about 1,200 students could move freely inside the building but no one was allowed to leave or enter it.

Three elementary schools in the area also restricted the movement of students, with some keeping children inside at recess.

The Capital District Health Authority said on its Twitter feed that it had heightened security at all of its medical sites, but that appointments were continuing.

Everton McLean, a spokesman for the health authority, said they stationed more security personnel at the entrances of all of their facilities both in Halifax and outside the city.

“The security guards are aware of the situation and have been told to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity,” he said.

A number of public buildings downtown, including museums and the public archives, tweeted that they had reopened shortly after the arrest was made.

Access to Halifax City Hall was restricted earlier in the day, but downgraded following the arrest.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Stairs said they were advised by police to keep everyone on one floor of the building at around 9:30 a.m., which is on the same street where the arrest occurred.

She said staff can now move freely inside the building, but had to show their municipal identification if they were coming or going. It was closed to the public.